Cost of infant daycare- survey question
I'm trying to get a sense of how much I should expect to pay for child care for an infant. All the price posts are fairly old, or for preschools which I'm not sure is the same thing. If people wouldn't mind sharing how much they pay for full time or part time care (in home or at a larger facility) I would really appreciate it! I only make $20 an hour before taxes so aside from needing to really tighten our purse strings, my partner and I are also trying to decide if it would make sense for me to go part time after the baby is born if we'd be paying close to my hourly for childcare. Is that something people have do? I'm not sure how we're going to swing things either way but people do it, right? Anyway, if I could get some sense before I start cold-calling day cares it would be really useful as we start inspecting our budget. Thanks! --First Time Mom (freaking out a bit about money;)
Parent Replies
We live in Kensington and have a nanny; pay $20 for one infant and when we share her with another family, $25 ($12.50 each). I did a fair amount of asking around and this was def in the regular pay range.
I'm a first time mom as well with a 4 month old. She's in a small home-based daycare full time, M-F 8-5:30pm and I pay $1300 a month. These home-based daycares were the cheapest option I found. I think there are some as low as $950 a month for full time care.
We have found the norm to be about $1,100 - $1,700 per month for full time day care 7:30 or 8am until 5:30.
Hope this helps!
When we looked last year the absolute cheapest we found full-time in home daycare in Berkeley was for was $900-1000 per month. We ended up at a place that was $1200/mo for full-time (7:30-5:30) and included food. But, they only take 1 infant, so getting an infant spot can be hard (infant equals anything under 2). Most in-home places are only able to take 1-2 infants.
What city are you in? In SF the cost is much higher than in suburbs like Sacramento.
so far I've found that you might be able to find some places for $12/hr but it's hard to find/get those spots. Also to note, we found that daycare and doing a nanny share with another family was pretty much the same cost if 2 kids were $25/hr. Split by 2 families. Daycare can be over $2k per mo depending on the facility but I think home based ones tend to be cheaper. We have a friend paying $1680/mo for 5 days per week in SF and he said it was the cheapest they found.
Heres another idea- what about a coop daycare? I know they exist for preschool but not sure re daycare. Basically you volunteer your time for reduced tuition. Another option if you do part time is to trade days with another part time mom you trust. Lastly, an au pair is great if you have an extra room and need ft care- they work 45 hrs/wk and get paid 9k per year plus room and board at your home.
We are in a home-based daycare and pay $1300 a month in Berkeley. This particular daycare charges the same rate for any age. The one downside is it's only open 8:30 to 4:30, but it's definitely one of the cheaper ones out there based on my research. FYI, Berkeley Parents Network has a list of daycare providers, and some of them show rates, so that'll be helpful for an initial survey of your area as well.
Hi!
What city do you live in? My husband and I are first time parents and totally understand your concerns about daycare. It can definitely get costly. We went through BANANAS referral center to get a list of licensed home day cares in our area and they provided us a list. I started to cold call and found day care to be anywhere from 1100-1500 per month for full time in Oakland. Another problem we experienced was space so as soon as you can and have figured out your budget, I would contact these places. If they have a waiting list I would suggest just getting on it, even if you haven't visited the place yet. My job is moving to Alameda next year so we ended up finding day care out there which was surprisingly a lot cheaper than in Oakland. It will cost us 900 per month full time. Hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions!
Nadia
Hi there, first of all, congrats on your baby! Child care is pricey around here... From my experience, family day cares tend to be on the cheaper side. These past three years, we were paying $1,250 a month for our son, full time (5 days a week, 8 am to 5:30 pm). Again, this is on the cheaper end of the spectrum, from what I remember from my searches when I was pregnant. If you're tight on money, I would recommend checking out family day cares... Start your visits early so you get a sense for what works for you and can have options. Good luck!
I can only suggest remembering that childcare is a family expense, not the responsibility of the mother. So be sure to add your partner's income and your growth in income and professional development over time into your calculations.
We do a nanny share and pay 12.50/hr. I have heard of one drop off place for $10/hr. Some of the monthly payment plans might come out lower than $12.50/hr, too. On the Bananas website, you can see what different facilities charge before calling. If you're paying an hourly rate, keep your commute time in mind; it adds up. I'm sorry about the money worries and hope you find something affordable!
Hi there!
I'm also a first time mom, and didn't know what to expect as far as childcare costs. I joined a nanny share and she charges $18/hr for one infant and $25 for two. So when we're sharing, which I'm doing part time, it's only $12.50/hr per family which I think is very reasonable. She seems to be on the higher/average end of the scale but has lots of experience and with only 2 kids each infant gets lots of attention. I hope this helps! Good luck!